ROSA LUCIDA. DWARF WILD ROSE. 35 



"As Venus wandered midst the Idalian bower, 



And watched the Loves and Graces round her play, 

 She plucked a musk rose from its dew-bent spray, 

 ' And this,' she cried, ' shall be my favorite flower ; 

 For o'er its crimson leaflets I will shower 

 Dissolving sweets to steal the soul awav ! ' " 



The etymology of the generic name, Rosa, is not clear. The 

 Greeks called the Rose rhodon, the Latins rosa, and it is gener- 

 ally supposed that the root of both these words signifies " red." 

 Some thoughtful minds, however, ha\'e come to the conclusion 

 that this derivation is not satisfactory, although to the mass of the 

 people it will probably seem to be more than likely, for " red as 

 a rose" is almost a proverbial expression. Dr. Prior remarks: 

 " The Latin rosa appears to be a foreign word, introduced to 

 replace a more ancient name for this shrub." Bauhin, a writer 

 of the sixteenth centur)-, credits Plutarch with the suggestion 

 that the original name signified something which " emits an 

 abundance of sweet odor," and if philology can show any reason 

 for this suggestion, it will be a point worth considering. 



Our present species, Rosa liccida, owes its specific name to the 

 bright, shining green of the upper surface of its early leaves. In 

 its botanical character it comes nearer to the Rosa Gallica, one 

 of the great types of old-world roses, than perhaps any other 

 American species. In fragrance it certainly equals the best of 

 the roses of the old world, and if it were to receive the care of 

 the florist, it might also become their rival in many other respects. 

 In its wild condition it does not show as much tendency to vary 

 as some other species. In the number of petals and in the shade 

 of color, there is much uniformit)-, while the greatest variation to 

 be found in this plant is noticeable in the broadening or narrow- 

 ing of the jaetals. In the form of the leaves, in the size and posi- 

 tion of the prickles, and in the degrees of glandular hairiness, all 

 of which are characters of some botanical importance, there is 

 also more or less departure from uniformity ; but the straight 

 prickles, running at right angles with the stem, are so character- 



